It’s taken all week, but clue #1 of Bonnie Hunter’s latest mystery, Orca Bay, is complete — with a few extra QST Squares.

Up next 3 1/2″ orange string blocks.  I’ve printed the pattern, now off to cut squares from on old phone book to use as the foundation.

It’s not much progress – but there’s a reason.  Namely, I focused on the log cabin and ocean waves quilts so I could play with Orca Bay, but then I changed my mind about my fabric choices.

Last week I picked Purple, Orange and Blue instead of Bonnie’s Red, Blue and Black.  My color choices were driven by what’s in my stash — I haven’t replenished my reds since I finished the wedding quilt and my purple/pink box is overflowing.  My thought was to use blue instead of black and figure out the purple and orange when we got to that step.

Once Bonnie posted the instructions, instead of going to my previously pulled fabric, I grabbed my 1 1/2″ strip box and pulled the black strips — they were all together since I sorted them when pulling purple and orange strips for the string blocks.  I started cutting the QSTs and then remembered I was using blue, not black.   A quick note to the list to remind everyone to mark their pattern and I marked my pattern and started over – getting enough QSTs cut to make about 52 QST Squares.

However, now I’m rethinking my color choices.  Bonnie posted that red is the predominate color in her quilt, followed by black with blue accents.  Given that, Bonnie’s red is my purple and her blue is my orange — I don’t want an orange quilt.  But do I still want blue as her black?

I’ve gone back to my stash and pulled my blacks.  I think I’ve got enough of a variety to make this work.  So here are my new colors (well, until I change my mind again).

I hope to get the QST squares made by Friday so I’ll be ready for the next clue.  I suspect it would be easier if I would focus on just this quilt.  Perhaps while the turkey is cooking Thursday.

In the meantime, follow the links over on Bonnie’s blog to see what others who are quilting along are doing.

Here’s my pile of log cabin blocks.  They now measure 6 1/2″. I have 19 more blocks to go before I start the next to last log.  I’m getting excited to see how this is going to come together.  I’ve been playing with layouts in EQ and haven’t decided on the final layout.

Meanwhile, I’ve been sewing HST Squares for the Ocean Waves quilt (current count 840 of 1584) and putting blocks together.  I’ve caught myself just staring at it mesmerized by the pattern and how all of the fabrics are playing together.  This is enough blocks for two rows, but it’s easier to see the pattern this way.

If this is not enough, I’ve also been playing with Orca Bay.  That story can be found HERE.

To see if anyone is working on something which doesn’t have 1000’s of pieces and 100’s of fabrics, check out the links over at Patchwork Times.

Lots of piecing this week, but not much on the fabric report.  I reported my last UnFinished Quilt which earned me a FQ and I also bought 1 yard of a light beige marble for a future project (like I need to be buying fabric for a “future” project). I almost forgot — the strings and the 2 1/2″ squares from quilt guild.  My best guess is all of this totals a little over 3 yard in.

I pieced all week, but it doesn’t show well in my outbound numbers — two more logs to my log cabin blocks — I can’t wait until I get the last 3 logs done and can count all the fabric at once.  140 HST squares for the Ocean Waves — but I discovered I made a mistake in my math, so the number was corrected and doesn’t show well and I’ve partially pieced the QST squares for Orca Bay — but until I get the hourglass until finished I’m not counting them either.

Fabric Added Last Week: 3.128 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 127.436 yards

Fabric Used Last Week: 0.356 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 162.575 yards

Net Used for 35.139 yards

The links over at Patchwork Times will show how others are doing.

Progress was made on multiple fronts quilts Friday night.

The outer light log was attached to 50 log cabin blocks.

60 pairs of quarter square triangles were sewn for Orca Bay.

20 half square triangle squares were made for Ocean Waves.

1 Ocean Wave block was made.

1 HST for Ocean Waves + 10 QSTs for Orca Bay + 1 HST for Ocean Waves + 10 logs for the log cabin

Not the fastest way to make progress on a quilt, but progress none the less.

I have my fabric all picked out for Orca Bay the Bonnie Hunter mystery which starts TOMORROW.

However, I have several things on my plate right now:

There’s the log cabin  – 180 blocks which still need two more light and two more dark logs added to the blocks; Ocean Waves – which needs who know how many more HST cut and sewn;  a purse my niece picked fabrics out for; and mini-quilt for my nephews Build-a-Bear frog using the peppermint fabric.

The log cabin is the only thing which doesn’t have a firm deadline — and it’s the one closest to completion.

Maybe I’ll just print out the instructions and not start Orca Bay until I get further along on one of these four projects.

Each November the Guild hosts a “Country Store”.  It’s a chance to go through your sewing room/studio and pull out those duplicate books, the “what was I thinking” fabric, orphan blocks, etc and sell them to other guild members.  If you don’t have enough stuff for your own table, you can donate it to the guild table.

This was the first year I managed to get to the November meeting.  For $2 I brought home a pile of strings and the two pictured books.

Also, I found out that I won a participation prize from the year-long challenge.

Now to figure out how much fabric this is to add to my stash report.

As usual, I was bouncing around on various projects last week.  But I have something to show for it this time.  I’ve finished my sister’s wedding quilt.  It measures 80 x 85 and is quilted with a red variegated or a sand variegated thread on the top and solid red on the bottom.  It’s an overall heart/ivy meander on the background and simple out line around each of the names.

Here’s a bit of the detail.

The back is a red, white and black plaid that I found on-line.

Also completed this week is Baby Glow.

The white lines around the stars on the purple fabric glow in the dark — I found that out after I brought the fabric home.  It’s also what I used on the back of the quilt.  Warm and Natural batting, 36 x 36 and yellow thread.

Have no fear, I’m still bouncing around.

Here are my log cabin blocks I’m piecing.  They’ve gotten too big to use as  leader/enders, so I’m doing 10 at a time and then a HST square for the Ocean Waves quilt.  There are 80 blocks in the pile on the left and 100 in the pile on the right.  There are 4 more logs after this round.

And the Ocean Waves quilt?

I’ve made another 100 HST squares this week bringing my total bonus and new to 600 or about 1/3 of the total I need for the quilt.   In addition to the log cabin blocks, I’ve pieced a couple of the Ocean Waves block — I’ve got two with the turquoise center, but I’m not sure where I put the other one.

It has been my intention to begin Orca Bay on Friday, but I think I may have to step back and reconsider that — or just stick to the HST square for Ocean Waves — my sewing table is getting crowded as I try to keep all the parts and pieces lined up for these two quilts — at least there’s no chance for me to get the parts mixed up.

Follow the links over at Patchwork Times to see other design walls.

It’s been a long week.  But the good news is that I’ve gotten plenty of quilting done.

Tuesday I finally made it to Rocking Chair Quilts and quilted the hearts/ivy on the Crossword Puzzle quilt.  I finished up the quilting at home on Thursday, took it up to the school to square it up — I think it finished at 81 x 84 — I’ll have to remeasure it now that I’ve got it washed.  The last stitches in the binding were taken just in time to pick up T to go to Second Friday Night Sew-In.  That’s where I added 4″ dark log to all of my log cabin blocks.

Somewhere along the way I quilted “Baby Glow” and I bound it Saturday.  In between I ran all sorts of errands and I’m ready to go back to work — just to get some rest!

I’m not counting the log cabin fabric until the top is complete, but I am counting the fabric for the HST squares for the Ocean Waves quilt as I make them. It will help counter the 5 yards of background fabric I bought for the quilt. 🙂

Fabric Added Last Week: 5 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 124.254 yards

Fabric Used Last Week: 2.283 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 162.219 yards

Net Used for 37.965 yards

Pictures tomorrow — so in the meantime, check out how others are doing with their stash by following the links over at Patchwork Times.